This project focuses on the satisfactions and costs of children, as perceived by parents. Based on a national sample of the United States, the study will provide for the first time baseline data on motivations for having children, as an aid to the formulation and evaluation of population policies. Social, economic, and physiological dimensions of the value of children will be assessed, and information will be obtained about the activities and goals that may serve as alternatives to children. The study is part of an international project now under way in six countries and thus will also contribute importantly to a comparative understanding of the determinants of fertility.